MD Appeals Court: State Foreclosure Rescue Law Applies To Transaction Where Law Took Effect After Contract But Before Closing Of Sale Leaseback Ripoff

In a recent ruling by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the court rejected an accused sale leaseback peddler's attempt to dodge the application of the state's Protection of Homeowners in Foreclosure Act by claiming that the contract for the transaction pre-dated the effective date of the statute, in a deal that didn't actually close until after the law took effect.

In reversing a lower court ruling, the appeals court said that applying the law to this case did not operate as an impermissable retroactive application of the statute to deprive the sale leaseback peddler of vested rights, and found that the trial court erred in concluding that the law was inapplicable to the transaction.

For the ruling, see Kargbo v. Gaston, 195 Md. App. 222; 5 A.3d 1231 (September 30, 2010).